Socceroos 10 games away from World Cup

March 18 2003By Michael Lynch

Socceroo boss Frank Farina yesterday welcomed the Oceania Football Confederation's World Cup qualifying program, in which the team will play 10 games in a bid to become the first country from this region to gain direct entry to the cup.

"I am happy with it; it was one of the suggestions we put forward. The only difference is that we suggested the final pool should be four to five teams, not six. But even the dates they are suggesting we are happy with," Farina said.

Australia and New Zealand have been seeded into the final pool. They will play off against the four other strongest countries in the region on a home-and-away basis, starting next year and finishing late in 2005.

All matches will take place on FIFA-designated match dates, ensuring there can be no objections from European clubs unhappy about their players flying across the world to play for their countries. Some games are likely to be scheduled to take place within the same week in a bid to minimise travelling.

The other countries that make the final pool will be determined by a pre-qualifying competition that pits them in two groups of five. After a home-and-away series, the top two will progress.");document.write("

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"I think it (playing two games in quick succession) is good. It means we won't be having to bring our players back 10 times," Farina said. "Obviously the travelling will be part of it and financially it helps out."

Asked if the workload meant there would be little time for friendlies against tougher opposition, he said it wasn't an issue. "If we do qualify for the World Cup, the amount of games we can get in the lead-up months will be coming out of our ears."